Germany’s Schott Solar on Monday inaugurated a new manufacturing facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The 200,000 square-foot facility will produce solar thermal and photovoltaic solar components.
Schott said the factory, which required an initial investment of more than $100 million, will provide 350 jobs and will ramp up production throughout the summer.
For the first phase, the Albuquerque facility will have an annual capacity of up to 85 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic polycrystalline modules, sold under the name Schott Solar Poly 225. The 225 watt module is well suited for a diverse range of applications and is particularly well suited for commercial buildings and schools.
In addition to manufacturing photovoltaics, Schott Solar said the facility is the first in the U.S. to produce receivers used in parabolic trough, utility-scale, concentrated solar power plants (CSP). Initially, the two production lines will produce enough receivers to meet the demands of up to 400 MW CSP power plants per year.
SCHOTT Solar receivers are advanced, specially coated steel absorber tubes embedded in evacuated glass envelopes. These receivers sit at the focal point of parabolic mirrors, where the sun’s thermal radiation is concentrated. A heat transfer fluid (HTF) is heated by the sun’s energy inside the receiver. The fluid then flows to a heat exchanger, which creates steam. This steam spins a turbine, creating energy.
SCHOTT Solar designed its manufacturing process in Albuquerque to accommodate future developments for CSP receivers. Prototypes of next generation receivers were unveiled by SCHOTT Solar during the inauguration of the Albuquerque facility. The new receivers offer new dimensions and can accommodate alternative heat transfer fluids.
Long term plans call for the buildings to expand to 800,000 square feet with solar jobs reaching 1,500 people, representing a total investment of approximately $500 million.
Schott Solar also has a much smaller manufacturing facility in Billerica, Massachusetts.
Schott Solar CEO Gerald Fine told Reuters that less than a quarter of the new Schott plant’s photovoltaic modules will be shipped overseas this year, while most of the solar thermal components will be used for US projects.
Loading...